Nigeria Operates A Feudal System of Government. We Need To Stop Pretending This is A Democracy

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Oftentimes, you hear Nigerians saying, 'Oh, Politics is a dirty game,' 'They are all liars, ' 'Politicians are so insincere,' etc. When I hear these statements, I often retort and insinuate in these conversations that we have never been interested in politics. We find ourselves today mainly due to our apathy towards the whole process. So, while this has rang true for decades, I now have a new theory. 

We, as citizens, are to blame for everything you see happening in the Nigerian political space today. Nigeria has little to no relationship between the state and its citizens. Why would there be any? The citizens 'toil the ground' and do everything they can to make something out of the dire circumstances they have been dealt with, so naturally, that disconnect is created, and the resulting apathy is very intentional. 

Now, this apathy and this pronounced disconnect allow a select few to get into the nation's politics by hook or by any means, to do as they like, muddle up electoral laws, create ambiguity in the Constitution, and enjoy little to no blowback from the people as a result of these actions. We claim ours is a democracy, but in the true sense, we have an arrangement for a select few to do as they like. 

If you can be daring enough, if you can 'Kiss the ring' and bid your time, if you can manage to strategically warm yourself into the heart of the political class and be willing to sacrifice just anything to achieve your grand aim, then you will be a successful politician in Nigeria. We already have a docile population who will only talk, rant for a few days, and move on, so the coast will always be precise whenever it's time. 

If you observe the trajectory of any current and significant influences in Nigeria's political space, you will see how true this is. 

Godfatherism and the Path to a State of Emergency

Ex-governors and political bigwigs interested in taking the reins of their states will be very happy as it stands. The president, with his latest declaration, just made clear the best template to seizing power if you are unhappy that the governor of your state is 'Not listening to instructions' or 'biting the hands that fed him. ' At least that is what we have seen the moves by the Obi-Akpor warrior lead to. If you are not happy enough, put fire in the state, and the president will follow suit if you are in his good books. 

The Nigerian political space is, at best, comical. Around here, the most brilliant politicians are the ones who can muscle their way through the system. Abuse it at will, bribe your way through, manipulate the people's will in every way possible just so you have your way. Those who can do this are the 'Master Strategists. ' They are the Superstar politicians, the strong men we have come to adore as citizens. 

Then, one other thing: there is always enough room to twist the literal words written in the Constitution. There is enough angle to be worked in your favor, enough ambiguity to turn the law on its head. After all, what will they do? Wail and tweet for a few days, and everybody returns to the business that pays them. I watched with surprise/disbelief as the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) defended the president's move with all his might.  

We all saw him issue out subtle threats to the governors of other states just in case they wanted to toe the same line. In his words, he promised they would also get the 'Fubara Treatment'. The country's democracy remains sacrosanct, he says, but at this point, we can all stop pretending. Ours is no longer a democracy; it's an arrangement that depends on the current grandmaster of the country's political scene. If you are not ready to 'Kiss the ring, ' do not enter the arena. 

Different reports have been filtering into the media that the Osun state might be the next. Kano State remains a desirable option, and I understand this. Why stop at Rivers when you can have them all? The Ex-governors of these states are still a steady presence in the corridors of power. All they need to do is make sure they have the ears of the president, start whispering into his ears from the shadows, Act through proxies in their states, and start disturbing their state governors. Before we know it, the big hammer of the State of Emergency will land. 

As Nigerians, Where Do We Stand Amidst All of This? 

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When I started this piece, I blamed all of us who are citizens of this country, and at this point, I am still standing on that point. These leaders were gotten from us; they are the best we could offer elective positions for them to lead us. If they were not, we would not have allowed all their misconduct and all these governance abuses to fester. 

We all saw the crisis in Rivers state degenerate to this level. We saw elected local government Chairmen make sneering remarks at the Governor, and House of Assembly lawmakers who were supposed to be preoccupied with effectively representing the interests of their constituents pick sides in a fight between the Governor and his erstwhile 'Godfather'. 

We have seen the destruction of the Legislative chamber of that state, allowances withheld, and suits and countersuits flying all around until we got to this point. At some point, we saw abuse of office, absolute disregard for executive positions, and violence, but what did the Rivers State people do? They watched as their land was desecrated by elements bent on misdirecting the path of governance. 

They could not aggregate themselves, tell the warring parties to mind the business to which they were elected, and provide them with the dividends of democracy. Instead, they were all quiet till it got to this point. Nobody could at any point remind the warriors at the theatre of their standing duty to the people and how the power of the people remained absolute in the land, but today, here we are. 

I watched as the former Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, waxed lyrically about he led dignitaries from the Niger Delta through PANDEF to an audience with the President, and how the President assured them of his cooperation, and further tasked them to move forward, only for him to declare a state of emergency in Rivers state, the very next day. 

The Nigerian Governor's Forum might have shamelessly decided to stay neutral. Still, we have seen former President Goodluck Jonathan condemn the move. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar even called a press conference, but what has changed? The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other pivotal stakeholders in the country's Politics have also spoken out about how this is an abuse of democracy and how this should never have been possible in a democracy, but what has changed? 

As of the last count, the newly appointed Military Administrator has moved on to making appointments. Something that should not be heard of, but we are in Nigeria. It has been one illegality on the other, but our leaders know us so much. We will only shout, tweet, and move on to the next thing on the 'Agenda'. It has been business as usual because they are so confident that we neither have the spine nor the political will to even start anything, not to talk of leading it to a conclusion. 

See why I said we caused this? When politicians make Machiavellian moves like the President did, we praise and jeer instead of castigating and pointing out the hypocrisy in these moves. We support because of our stupid obsession for strong men and how tribal and ethnic politics is what we know how to do best. For what it is worth, the chicken will always come home to roost. 

The Ekiti State Example and the Power of Precedence

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Nigeria has been lawless for quite some time, and successive governments have only found a way to be more lawless. They always find a new angle to explore and boundaries to break regarding the abuse of the law and the constitution. As the news of the President's declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State broke out, the emergency lovers of democracy wasted no time pointing to the State of Emergency declared in Ekiti State during the Olusegun Obasanjo's era. 

The Aberration and the wide-eyed onslaught on democracy were none of their concerns. All they cared about was that OBJ once did it, so why are there criticisms now that BAT has moved in the same direction? But they failed to understand that Obasanjo erred at that time and even got a Supreme Court judgement that went against his moves at the time. 

Supreme court judgments do not mean much anymore. Our court judges openly frolick with the political class. With our collective apathy towards governance and Politics, we have watched our institutions get desecrated and our systems weaken. Then, judges prided themselves on integrity, but now, anything goes. This is the power of precedence. There was already a template, the Jagaban of Aso Rock only updated the playbook. 

And as it stands, we can only have ourselves to blame. The people of Rivers can take lessons from Ekiti State. I am from there, and I remember how we lived peacefully through that time till we finally got a chance to vote for another Governor.  I hope they gather around, introspect properly, and see that the development of the state comes before any warring party. Politicians will always come and go, but the State will remain. They only enjoy a time of influence; they will be gone before long. 

These are unpredictable times that challenge the very foundation of everything that holds our society together. We should not stay quiet. I believe in the power of words; I see them as tiny, apparently harmless things that have the power to change stereotypes and make things happen. If just one person can see this and have a change of thinking about our country's current trajectory, then my work here is done.